Devotionals for the Heart: Joy

Joy Inexpressible
A devotional by Allison M. Wilson

Key Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB) and 1 Peter 1:8 (NASB)

Joy and happiness seem like they are synonymous, and in many ways they are, but there’s a reason God put joy in the Fruits of the Spirit rather than happiness. In the New Testament, joy is translated as “cheerfulness, calm delight.” In today’s culture, that is very different than “happy.”

How do we have joy? As we looked at last month, the Fruits of the Spirit aren’t just randomly ordered. God’s love must be the first thing we accept, allow it to change us and grow us to be more like Him. Joy is the next one on the list because it is an outflow of His love for us. Our acceptance of that love brings a cheerfulness and calm delight that we cannot manufacture on our own…at least, not for long.

As I write this, I’m sitting at my mother’s bedside hoping for her next breath, but longing for her suffering to be over and for her to enter Jesus’s rest. I’m not happy. I AM joyful. Why? Because happy tends to have to do with circumstances. Not always, but a lot of the time our emotions fluctuate due to circumstances around us. Joy is a constant if we will allow it. I’m not happy, but I am filled with the joy, the calm delight that my mom will soon know no pain. Joy only comes from the One constant we have…Christ.

We are at a wonderful hospice house. There are several families with whom God has given us a chance to interact. One such family watched their loved one go tonight. They were another believing family and know that their loved one is now resting in Jesus. Through the last few days, we’ve all shared food and some laughter during a difficult time. We have all had the calm delight and assurance of Christ’s love for us, as well as our family members who are going on before us.

God wants our hearts to be focused on the joy HE brings rather than things around us that are so temporary. The enemy wants to steal that joy with all the things or situations in front of us. Our hearts, set on the Father, will remain in perfect peace. That calm delight of God’s peace, especially during tough times, will be a beacon to those who are hurting in this dark world. They will want to know that joy for themselves. They’ll begin to seek out someone who allows the joy of the Lord to be their strength. Seeing how the joy doesn’t diminish with a hard trial will be so different than what they see from others that they can’t help but notice.

My Prayer: Daddy, we see too many things with our human eyes and miss so much You want to show us about Your joy. The joy of the Lord IS our strength, yet we ignore it for the earthly comforts of happiness. Show us Your better way. Give us Your eyes to see the joy You provide and how it will overwhelm even the darkest times in our lives, if we allow You to shine through. Make us instruments of Your joy to show the light to those who desperately need it. In Jesus Christ’s Name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

A very early reader and lover of the written word, Allison M. Wilson has been writing since the age of 8 with the heart to impart stories and God's truth.

She has judged countless contests for the last 25 years, reviewed for several online publications, professionally edited, and written articles and devotionals.

Wife, mother, writer, editor, teacher, mentor, and mompreneur, God keeps her busy while living in east central Florida with her family.

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Connect with Allison:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allisonmwilson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amwilson

Devotionals for the Heart: God First

God first, others second
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

We keep a sign in our house that says, “God first, others second, self last.”

I thought I put it there for my kids, but as a reformed people-pleaser, I now know it’s there just as much for me as for them.

See, I’ve always felt like that awkward girl—the one who didn’t quite fit in. I was painfully shy, but I moved around a lot and also did a lot of theater, so I learned enough social skills to get by. Still, making real, lasting friendships wasn’t easy. Between trust issues and girl drama, I was always overly concerned about whether people liked me or what I could do to make friends. People-pleasing became an idol in my life.

Finally one day, well into my adulthood, I had enough of the games and the worrying. As my relationship with God grew stronger and I became more committed in my faith, I realized it no longer mattered what others thought. It only mattered what God thought.

But it was hard to unshackle my former chains. I’d become somewhat of a slave to my people-pleasing mentality. I had to retrain myself to “hit pause” or “reset” when an unhealthy thought would enter my head, to shut down my initial instinct to wonder, “Hmm, what might they think?” Instead, I focused on whether I was pleasing God.

Today, I hope this has become a natural habit. But I know I am a flawed human woman with a foot in two worlds: my eternal future with God and this temporary, earthly realm. And sometimes the voices of others clamor for attention so loudly that they threaten to drown out God’s almighty call on my heart.

I try my best to combat that by beginning my day in prayer and with Bible reading, and by being aware of the struggle between the world and the Lord. While I have an obligation and a mission to spread God’s love in the world, there’s a big difference between loving the people in the world and being influenced by those people.

That’s why the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the early church in Colossae speaks to me today. In his letter, Paul tells us to do all we do—whether that’s loving our family members or in our labors—in the name of Jesus.

“Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ.”

 ~Colossians 3:23-24 (CEB)

You serve the Lord, he said—not people—so serve from the heart. Serve joyfully, in love, just as we love our Lord, for loving and serving our family is loving God. Loving and serving others is loving God. Loving and serving our “master” (modern day read on this is “boss”) is loving God.

God first. I pray I can always remember that.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 ACFW Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden.

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministries team.

Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com/shiningthelight

Devotionals for the Heart: Reflection

The Reflection
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 
~John 4:24 (NIV)

I clearly remember the moment I stood gazing at my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t recognize the person staring back. She looked tired and haggard. I thought I’d lost my bloom. I was single and barely thirty years old.

My reflection was not an accurate portrait of the person I felt like inside. It wasn’t appealing to me and I knew no one else was going to find it attractive either. Why wasn’t my outward appearance matching my inward spirit? I felt I had a good relationship with God. I loved him, I sought after him, I worshipped him...

Worship gave me a check in my spirit. Was there an issue with my worship? John 4:24 (NIV) says, “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

I asked the Lord what truth wasn’t measuring up in my worship. He showed me a rusty golden bowl, my current offering to him. I had lapsed in casting off all worldly cares. They were weighing heavily on me and tarnishing my ability to reflect who I really was in Christ. I prayed for God to “create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me” as Scripture says in Psalm 51:10 (KJV).

A few weeks later, I attended a Hillsong United concert with my sister. Shortly before the band played, a handsome and brawny man sat down in our row. He struck up a conversation with us while he waited for his brother. Shawn was an airline pilot from the Virginia town where I had once lived and worked. There came that familiar heart string’s tug again. When he spoke about his love for God and passion for music, I felt connected to the truth in his words.

Though the music blared and the lights flashed during the concert, I found myself watching Shawn intently, not because of his looks, but how he worshipped. His hands raised high in the air and he sang with abandon to every song.

Later that night, I reflected on the image of Shawn worshipping and I asked God to show me why I had connected to him so much. The Lord revealed that Shawn was wearing an ultra-reflective armor, the kind goes through a refining fire so hot it burns all the way through the metal causing any impure elements to be removed. The result is a breastplate of righteousness that reflects the truest image of God, and so amazing is that when we meet others whose armor has also been so refined, we recognize in their armor’s reflection the Spirit of God in all His holiness.

Something that is Holy is reserved by God for His own use (The Quest Study Bible, 1994). Psalms 96:9 (KJV) tells us, “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” and 1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV) says, “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; For it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.” What is it to be holy? Mainly consecrating yourself wholly unto God, but I also like this definition: “Having a spiritually pure quality.” Spiritual purity only comes out of the refining fire of God’s Holy Spirit.

When we seek to worship God in Spirit and in truth, we are asking Him to refine us so that our worship is made utterly pure in His sight and our armor will reflect Him alone. Only then we will recognize the true reflection of ourselves each and every time we look in the mirror.

Do you want to be so refined today? Ask God. He’s always willing and waiting.

~*~
Author Bio:

Mirachelle Canada is a writer, playwright, screenwriter and theatre director/producer from Northern Virginia. She teaches television production at C.D. Hylton Senior High School. 

She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Script & Screenwriting from Regent University and is a member of Act One: Hollywood Film & Television Writing Program, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), ACFW Virginia Chapter, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and Your Novel Blueprint.

Mirachelle is passionate about awakening creativity and the gifts of God in everyone. She is currently working on her first historical fiction novel set during WWII, inspired by her time studying theatre education in London, England.

In her spare time, she also writes and directs Christmas and Easter passion plays at Christ Chapel Assembly of God in Woodbridge, VA.

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Connect with Mirachelle:
Website: www.mirachellecanada.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirachellecanada/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mirachelle77/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miracan

Devotionals for the Heart: God's Grace

Grasping Grace
A devotional by Carrie Del Pizzo

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ~Romans 5:8 (NASB)

Grace is a tricky subject. We get the gist of it: We sinned, Jesus died, we’re saved. But do we really understand? I confess that this is one I sometimes struggle with.

I’m told grace is the unmerited, unearned favor of God. The unmerited part seems pretty obvious. I know I’m a sinner. I hear it in my voice when I yell at my kids. I hear it in my mind when I think critical cutting thoughts about someone I don’t like. I feel it in my heart when God tells me to reach out to someone and I stop to debate whether or not I will obey.

The unearned bit is also pretty clear cut. Oh, sure, I’m a decent enough human being, but nothing earth-shattering. I like talking to kids, but I’m no Sunday school teacher. There’s always room for a friend at my table, but I’m not volunteering my weekends to serve meals at the homeless shelter. And I like sharing with you all a few words God has laid on my heart, but I’m not getting my theology degree or seeking ordination to become a great Bible teacher.

But then we come to the mic drop: favor of God.

Merriam-Webster.com says favor means “to show partiality toward,” and gives synonyms of prefer, handpick, adore, cherish.

What? Why?

Let’s think this through. We’re talking about the great big GOD of the whole wide universe. Creator of Heaven and Earth. King of kings, Lord of lords, the Big Kahuna. He knows what I’m like in public and private. He knows where I am and where I’d rather be. He knows what I say out loud and what I’m really thinking. So, if He knows the truth about me, why would he prefer me, handpick me, adore me, cherish me?

Love. The Bible book of Romans tells us that, “God demonstrates His own love toward us …”

This is the time I start thinking that serving friends dinner and writing this little devotional are getting me farther than I thought. I must be doing ok. I’m working pretty hard, trying to be a good person, doing everything I can to be good enough for God, and then His grace fills in the gaps. Right?

Let’s look at the rest of that verse. “… in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” That’s right, Jesus paid the highest price, gave up His throne, gave up His dignity, gave up His life, long before I ever got around to thinking up ways to try to impress Him (as though that were possible). Because my selfishness and dirtiness separated me from God, and because He couldn’t live without me, He died. And in that horrible, gruesome, painful, selfless act, He showed me favor that I could never begin to earn or merit. He made a way for me to be with Him again.

Ok, are you ready for the really great news? He did it for you, too.

Oh, yes, He did. Don’t shake your head at me. I know you’re thinking you’ve made too many mistakes, you’ve blown too many chances, you’ve gotten too dirty.

Or maybe you’ve been trying to impress God. Trying work really hard for Him. Trying to get really clean for Him. Trying to make yourself good enough for Him.

All of that is irrelevant because it’s already done. He already died for you. He already made you clean. He already opened the door for you to be with Him. Because He already loves you.

Did you catch that? Should I say it again?

He already loves you.

You may ask, “What about obedience and service?” Yeah, those are a portion of Christian life, but we’ll get to those later. Today we’re talking about GRACE, something that happened a long time ago.

So, sit back and rest in it for a while. You and I don’t deserve. We didn’t earn it. But God freely gave it to us anyway … because He loves us. Go figure.

~*~
Author Bio:

In this world of texts, memes, and emojis, slowing down to truly communicate can feel like straining a muscle you haven’t exercised in far too long.

Seventeen years of business experience across a variety of industries has taught Carrie Del Pizzo the fine art of professional communications. Partnering with corporate executives and entry-level employees alike, she has written and edited major project proposals, direct marketing pieces, sensitive client communications, employee handbooks, and user manuals.

Carrie’s love of literature and story has led her to develop and exercise her fiction writing skills as well. Aside from her personal creative efforts, she also edits for self- and traditionally-published authors and enjoys writing short dramas for church presentation.

Carrie is a wife, mom of three Americans and host-mom to numerous exchange students. Italian-by-marriage means she loves to cook and eat. She lives in Spokane, WA, with her hilarious family, who keeps her in stitches and provides piles of material for great stories.

Devotionals for the Heart: Hope

Seeds of Hope
A devotional by Glynis Becker

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” ~Lamentations 3:21-24 (NLT)

In the upper midwest of the United States, winter can often feel neverending. While the Black Hills where I live get a surprising amount of sunshine even in the winter, those gloomy days, cold temperatures, and biting winds can sap the strength of even the most ardent optimist.

But I know that spring will come, even if it’s still months away. Why? Because I live in hope.

Hope. Such a small word to hold such enormous promise.

Hope is the seed inside of me that says, “Tomorrow will be better.” Or “God’s got this.” Or “This journey won’t last forever.”

In the night, I hope for daylight.

In the pain, I hope for relief.

In the grief, I hope for joy.

in the chaos, I hope for order.

In the anger, I hope for peace.

Hope is not a wish or a dream. This is the foundational faith that the God I believe in will rebuild what is broken because in His Word He promised He would.

I find these verses from the book of Lamentations especially poignant. This poetic prophecy was written as a reflection on the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people into Babylon. When the world crumbled around him from the turmoil of war, this man had a seed of faith allowing him to hope that the Lord would be merciful. He knew this would not be the end of the story for God’s people.

Jeremiah had stories from Creation, the Exodus, the conquering of Canaan, the life of David, which is a fairly short time-line compared to what we have. Today, with evidence from every book of the Bible and millions upon millions of stories from people around the world who continue to experience the presence, guidance, and faithfulness of God, how can we possibly feel hopeless?

So, the bulbs in my flower garden are currently buried under layers of frozen dirt, ice, and snow. But because every year the ground thaws, the sun comes out, and the birds come back, I have hope I will eventually see flowers bloom, even through the snow, if necessary.

Why can I say that?

God has never failed me yet. Great is His faithfulness.

My Prayer: Gracious God, I know You have always and will continue to show Your faithfulness to the world. In our darkness, sadness, brokenness, and mourning, have mercy. Remind us that even if it doesn’t happen today or tomorrow, Your Kingdom will come in all its truth and glory. Make us ready. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume. 

She has co-written several screenplays, including Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming.

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two teenage children.

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting. You can find her at www.glynisbecker.com.

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour featuring "Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe" (book)

Welcome to my blog's stop on Carla Laureano's tour for her new novel, Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe!

My review of her book is simple and sweet: 

What can I say? Brunch at Bittersweet Café is a winner!

It's a deliciously wonderful story filled with mouthwatering food, captivating characters and a romance to remember!

The plot thickens with the turn of every page. The dialogue is fresh and engaging. The storyline is rich and multi-layered. The characters are well developed, each with a mind of their own and passion for life.

The hero is swoon-worthy and the heroine is strong-willed. Watching them fall in love with each other was rewarding because the author did a great job in making it look like they could never be together. Carla (the author) kept me as the reader guessing until the very end of this story. I think that readers will be pleasantly surprised by the way this story ends.

After reading Brunch at Bittersweet Café, I was inspired to keep fighting for my creative career dreams because the concept of grit when working to make a dream come true was well-portrayed in this story and a true mirror to what can happen when you persevere in real-life.

Bravo, Carla Laureano, for writing a story that’s as memorable as it is sweet!

Please note: Celebrate Lit provided me (Alexis A. Goring) with a complimentary copy of "Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe". My opinions in this book review are my own.

Read more about Carla's story below and enter the giveaway contest toward the end of this blog post for your chance to WIN amazing gifts!

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About the Book

Title: Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Author: Carla Laureano

Genre: Christian Romance

Release date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Tyndale

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country—an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Author

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

Guest Post from Carla

“Confessions of An Erstwhile Baker”

Like most females, baking is encoded somewhere deep down in my DNA. Call it nature or call it nurture, but at the earliest age, I figured out that the cute boy in my English class would talk to me if it involved chocolate chip cookies. Got my heart broken or had a friend betray me? I grabbed the mixing bowl and went for the brownies (even better if they’re served à la mode.) My friend was having a birthday? I made a cake drowned in pounds of buttercream.

I quickly graduated from the boxed mixes to the real thing when I got married and had a kitchen large enough to roll out dough. I would comb magazines for the best recipes and spend my weekends trying them out. I quickly became known for bringing beautifully iced Christmas cookies and delicious homemade cakes to work.

Then my husband and I moved our young family from Los Angeles to Denver, a relocation that was about 1000 miles northeast and 5000 feet up. Suddenly, every recipe I’d perfected in the previous eight years failed. Cookies burned to crisps, cakes fell, and don’t get me started on candy making. Gradually, I adapted my recipes (my beloved never-fail Toll House recipe took eight tries to get right) and even became an avid artisan bread-baker.

Then disaster. Or at least, what a baker would consider a disaster. After developing chronic health problems, I discovered that among other things, I was sensitive to gluten. The horror! In order to heal, I turned to the paleo diet, which eliminates all grains (there goes most gluten-free recipes) and all processed sugars (there goes everything else). I’ve tried baking paleo-style, and while I can now make cakes that even my gluten-fiend family enjoy, it’s just not the same.

So what’s a once-obsessive baker do when she can’t eat her creations? She bakes for other people and goes on faith that they actually taste good… considering she can’t taste them herself.

It struck me that there was a spiritual lesson in that, and an obvious tie to Brunch at Bittersweet Café, which deals in large part with Melody’s faith journey. There are times when we have no idea if things are working out the way they’re supposed to, in which case we just have to trust the “recipe” and the input of friends and family who love us. Sometimes our instincts tell us when we’re off track, and sometimes we need that outside nudge from our “taste-testers” to put us back on course.

In any case, what Melody and I have in common is that we both bake to show our love for the people around us. And the process of baking my favorites, even knowing that I can’t enjoy them myself, can still be a selfless way to show people they’re important to me.

Fortunately, macarons, which happen to be made with almond flour, are still on the menu.

~*~

Blog Stops

Quiet Quilter, February 12

Among the Reads, February 12

Lighthouse Academy, February 12

By The Book, February 12

The Power of Words, February 13

As He Leads is Joy, February 13

Cultivating Us, February 13

Blossoms and Blessings, February 13

Fiction Aficionado, February 14

The Lit Addict, February 14

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, February 14

This Chattanooga Mommy Saves, February 14

All-of-a-kind Mom, February 15

Just the Write Escape, February 15

100 Pages per Hour, February 15

Splashes of Joy, February 15

Bibliophile Reviews, February 16

Texas Book-aholic, February 16

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 16

C Jane Read, February 17

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 17

Moments, February 17

Back Porch Reads, February 17

Cordially Barbara, February 18

Genesis 5020, February 18

Simple Harvest Reads, February 18 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 18

Livin’ Lit, February 19

Kat’s Corner Books, February 19

Life with the Tribe, February 19

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, February 19

Through the Fire Blogs, February 20

Remembrancy, February 20

Vicky Sluiter, February 20

Living Life Free in Christ, February 20

2014 and Beyond!, February 21

Daysong Reflections, February 21

Inklings and Notions, February 21

Pause for Tales, February 21

Cafinated Reads, February 22

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 22

two points of interest, February 22

Ashley’s Bookshelf, February 22

My Devotional Thoughts, February 23

Two Girls and a Book, February 23

The Christian Fiction Girl, February 23

For the love of books, February 23

God is Love, February 24

Book by Book, February 24

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, February 24

Janices book reviews, February 24

Lukewarm Tea, February 25

Carpe Diem, February 25

A Baker’s Perspective, February 25

Bigreadersite, February 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carla is giving away a grand prize package of a macaron baking mat, a macaron book, and a paperback copy of Brunch at Bittersweet Café!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/db0f/brunch-at-bittersweet-cafe-celebration-tour-giveaway 

Devotionals for the Heart: Lost Keys, Prayers and God's Protection

The Lost Keys
A devotional by Heather Martin

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

God hears our prayers and answers for our good.

Sometimes it is hard for us to understand why God answers the way He does and in the timing that He chooses, but we just need to trust that when our prayers aren’t answered when we expect, God is protecting us and it will be for our good.

I had to believe this on a morning when my sweet husband misplaced his keys! Now he often misplaces his keys, wallet, and I.D. for work. I joke with him that if he had a place to put all these things, like a man purse, this problem might be solved! Surely if I didn’t have a purse or place to house all of my things I might lose them more often too.

Anyhow, we usually whisper a prayer and locate those keys before he has to go to work, but not today! We looked right up until the last minute and those keys would not turn up. We prayed the whole time and I don’t know why they didn’t just turn up like usual. Frustrating, yes! But we both hopped in my school bus, I mean my truck, (it just feels like a bus since I drive four kids around every day) and headed to drop him off at work. I came home and searched high and low for those keys, I mean I looked every possible place you can imagine, and my Mom even helped me to tear the house up, still no keys. In my head, I would find those keys and have my Mom follow me to his job to drop off his car so he could be free to come home at his leisure. No such luck!

The last time he lost his keys, God impressed us to look in the garbage just before it was going to be picked up, and there were his keys! Surely if God could show us where those keys were then, He would certainly help us find them before the day was over. However, we still couldn’t find them all day! It was time to pick him up from work and I was disappointed to tell him that God had not answered our prayers to find the last set of keys we owned to his car. We would have to spend a couple hundred dollars to replace that set of keys!

When we finally reached home again, I was cooking dinner and I whispered a prayer in my head to help Colin find those keys, let him wake up in the morning and be on his chest, I prayed. No sooner than I finished this thought, Colin walks into the kitchen holding his keys! Wow! That was a quick answer! Had God just gotten tired of us asking and begging Him all day and just said, “Alright, alright. Let me let help him find those keys now. He’s suffered enough!”

My husband’s keys were hiding in a box that I don’t think any of us would have thought to look in (courtesy of one of our loving kiddos)! It was only God’s grace that allowed my husband to look in a small box that a toy came in to find his keys. A box that should’ve been thrown in the trash!

I believe that God was protecting Colin from something that day. He was looking at the bigger picture, looking into the future, like only He can and changing it for his good. I believe he was stopping something that could have been tragic. It was no coincidence that those keys would not turn up until we were all at home safe and sound.

When we get to heaven, I can’t wait to ask God why He wouldn’t let Colin find his keys to drive his car to work on June 3, 2017. I trust God. I believe that He hears every prayer because He does. We may not understand the ways or timing He chooses to move in, but we can have peace knowing that we have a Heavenly Parent (God) who is looking out for our best. We can rest assured that our Heavenly Father knows best.

~*~
Author Bio:

Heather Martin was born the last of six siblings in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was raised by an amazing single mother (Rebecca Trotter) and was taught at an early age to love God and how to sing! 

She graduated from Oakwood University with a Bachelors Degree in Language Arts Education and later received a Master’s Degree in Education from Kaplan University. 

Shortly after graduating she followed God’s call to minister. She joined the Stellar, Dove, and Grammy-nominated gospel group Virtue, which was founded by her two older sisters Ebony Holland and Karima Kibble several years prior. Virtue has used their talents to spread the love of God across the world! They have recorded 7 studio albums and have been the recipients of numerous awards.

God has not only blessed Heather professionally, but personally. She met her husband, Dr. Colin Martin, and they have been married for 14 years. They have four children: Colin Jr. 11, Harper 10, Clark, 7, and Charleston 5. In 2016 Heather started an online blog and vegan and allergen-friendly cooking channel called “Chef Mommy.” Heather (Chef Mommy) has cooked with numerous celebrities and top chefs to spread the news of healthy cooking and lifestyle.

In addition to this busy schedule, Heather enjoys, running, reading, writing and spending time with her family.

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Connect with Heather:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherTMartin
Instagram for Heather: https://www.instagram.com/thechefmommy/
Instagram for Virtue (Heather’s singing group): https://www.instagram.com/virtuegirls
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chefmommyhm